I hope you're all well today and the sun is SHINING, either
really in the sky, or as that's unlikely at this time of year, maybe just from
inside you. A November glow. Happiness.

So today, food's been nothing much to write about, but snacks
got crazy! Today I've been transcribing interviews for my dissertation and this
is very dull work. You have to hear yourself speak on tape (awful), you can't
listen to music (awful) and you're listening to conversations that were only
ever going to be interesting the first time around. A health kick-approved treat
was in order!

Also today, I had company! Someone came to see meeee. A
friend!

My friend popped over for a good catch up and saved the day
so I didn’t have to do more transcribing. Legend. Instead of transcribing, I got busy hosting.
And took this very seriously.

So my friend, Woody, he’s a proper student. He eats often but
chefs rarely. He was the perfect candidate for me to try out a new recipe
on!

As you know I'm a big believer in the Morrison's Christmas
Magazine (I'm not being paid to promote it, my love is genuine) and today I
happened up on the perfect recipe inside... a Christmas Smoothie!

It's got really simple ingredients and looks very tempting in
the magazine…

In my eyes, Woody was the PERFECT smoothie candidate because
he…

Drinks girly drinks

Likes to try new things (I believe an animal was harmed)

And is impressed by anything prepared for him

Soooo, with my victim greeted and seated, I got my blend on
and created something AWESOME. Here's how you do it:

ChefBeHere Top Tip: If cranberry juice isn't something you
normally buy, give it a go! Get some in for this recipe and if there's any left
after your ensuing smoothie craze, you can use the rest of the carton as a
mixer for nights out! Amaretto and cranberry is one of my favourite alcoholic
drinks.

4. 1 tablespoon of porridge oats

5. 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (the original recipe called
for honey but I’ve run out of this, so I subbed syrup in instead and said a
prayer)

6. A pinch of nutmeg (this is an optional festive touch)

It makes a craaaaaazy
brain-matter-alien-type mix

Then you whizz it all together and voila! It's Christmas Smoothie
time.

So today I served my smoothies alongside some of the baked
plums that I blogged about on Monday, and they worked really well together. As
a pair they made for some extremely Christmassy flavours, and they were really
pretty looking to serve as a light offering for my friend, while we chatted and
caught up.

And we both really enjoyed the smoothie! This smoothie was
lovely and thick, and the recipe filled both of our glasses right to the top.
The smoothie tasted very sweet and banana-y, but differently fruity too. It was
a new taste. Woody seemed most pleased with his plums and his smoothie.

Feedback... Maybe the cranberry could have been stronger? It’s possible that
my oh so liberal ‘pinch’ of nutmeg was responsible for drowning out much of the
cranberry flavour. Or that cranberry in juice form is just no match for an
overly ripe, super-sized banana beast. Or maybe we should just up the amount of
juice? Who knows.

REGARDLESS of this, I might faff around with the quantities a
little, but overall this came out superbly well. I recommend the smoothie and I
really recommend spending time with a friend! Put them together and what have you
got?? A lovely afternoon. :)

Well readers, what do you think of today’s Christmas
Smoothie?? Rate it or hate it? Let me know and shout out any other smoothie
recipe ideas you've got! Together, we'll blend our way to December, when the
real Christmas recipes can come out...

1 comment:

Just tried the Christmas Smoothie recipe and it's lovely, a real treat. Turned out that i didn't have nutmeg, so substituted cinnamon and it worked really well. Keep up the good work with your blog :-)